Invaluable archaeological artefacts in Gaza saved in a frantic rescue

Negotiate against the chronometer

COGAT, the Israel defense organization in charge of humanitarian aid, informed the demolition plan last Wednesday morning. The warning has been launched by a notification system managed by international NGOs to make the Israeli soldiers know that a specific area is a sensitive site such as a school, hospital or warehouses with humanitarian aid.

Charbel, who is based in Gaza City on a temporary humanitarian rotation, spent nine hours furiously negotiating with the Israeli army to allow workers to move the artifacts in a safer place. But the challenge was greater than simply holding the army. While Israel expands its operations to Gaza City, other organizations were in disarray, and no one could locate trucks to transport the artifacts in such a short time.

“Five minutes before having to accept that it was going to be evaporated in front of us, another actor offered us a transport,” said Charbel. Pui worked with Latin Jerusalem Latin patriarchy to move the artefacts in a safer place in Gaza City which is not disclosed for security reasons.

The French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF), a revered archaeological institution of the region which supervised the excavation of the dead of the dead sea in Israel, was responsible for the storage of about 80 square meters (860 square feet) of the archaeological artefacts in the high height building from Al-Kawthar in Gaza City. Pui ensures the safety of the site.

Dozens of ancient archaeological sites have been found in Gaza, in particular temples, monasteries, palaces, churches, mosques and mosaics. Many of them have been lost in urban sprawl and looting. UNESCO is struggling to preserve some of those who remain. Some sites go back 6,000 years, when Gaza was a central stop on commercial roads between Egypt and the Levant, and the emergence of urban companies began to transform agricultural villages.

The artefacts rescued this week include ceramic jugs, mosaics, coins, painted plaster, human and animal remains, and objects excavated by the Saint Hilarion monastery, one of the oldest known examples of Christian monastic communities in the Middle East, according to UNESCO.

No time for normal preparation

From Sunrise on Thursday, workers rushed to pack five flat trucks with as many delicate artifacts as they may be in six hours. The artefacts, which had been carefully stored and documented in the warehouse, were hastily wrapped in cardboard boxes, with a pottery of almost 2,000 years based on sandy soil.

Charbel noted that the transport of these former artifacts generally requires intense preparation and special arrangements to protect delicate objects, which was not possible in this case. The Israeli army does not allow you to use closed container trucks, exposing the artifacts to additional dangers. Several articles were broken on the way and others had to be left behind. Israel destroyed the building on Sunday, claiming that Hamas had positioned observation positions and information collection infrastructure within it.

During last week, Israel demolished several high -rise buildings in Gaza City, part of its dramatic warnings to civilians to evacuate before the ground offensive, which started on Tuesday morning.

As the Israel’s operation develops, the artifacts take place in a different place from Gaza City. However, they are outside, exposed to the elements and remain in serious danger while the strikes intensify.

UNESCO said that Israel had damaged at least 110 cultural sites through the Gaza Strip, including 13 religious sites, 77 buildings of historical or artistic interest, a museum and seven archaeological sites, since the start of the war in October 2023.

During archaeological rescue, Charbel said that he and other humanitarian workers also fought with deeper questions. Did he make sense to direct so many resources, including fuel and necessary trucks, risking the lives of several people who were constantly working on the threat of bombing, for inanimate historical objects, when the humanitarian situation is so disastrous? Charbel said he was worried about spending so much time on archaeological artefacts when they also needed to negotiate with cogat on vital water, food and medicine.

“But we have agreed to do it, because it is so precious, this thing is of such importance for world history and also Palestinian history,” said Charbel. “The destruction of the first examples of Christian history in Palestine would erase it forever.”

Originally published: September 16, 2025 at 1:22 p.m. Hae